For years, Prince Harry has been accused of trying to bring down the monarchy. But what if he ends up bringing down the Washington Post? That was not on my bingo card. It all started when Prince Harry’s legal team won a motion, in his long-running lawsuits against British media outlets, to name names of editors and journalists who hacked him and used criminal means to get information on him. One of those names is Will Lewis, who worked for the Times and the Telegraph during the pre-Leveson heyday of British phone hacking. Lewis spent years engaged in business-as-usual in the British press system, then he was transferred to the Wall Street Journal (owned by Rupert Murdoch), and from there, Lewis was appointed the new CEO of WaPo. We’ve heard that Lewis tried to kill/minimize the Post’s reporting on Harry’s lawsuits. We’ve also heard that Lewis has tried to kill other outlets’ reporting on his lengthy history of criminality. In recent days, Lewis’s behavior has led to a Streisand-effect where the NY Times and other major outlets are investigating his past work and discovering just how thoroughly compromised he is. Well, the Daily Beast has a deep dive on Lewis and here’s one small excerpt:
But there are questions haunting Lewis. They center on his time working for Murdoch between 2010 and 2012. Those years are a black box in an otherwise open and apparently illustrious career. Lewis says there is nothing to them. A court case in London suggests otherwise.
The case is seven years in the making and due to go to trial in January. It is being brought by Prince Harry against Murdoch’s British tabloids, which Harry and around 40 other plaintiffs are suing for phone hacking. The suit also alleges a conspiracy to conceal and destroy evidence. Lewis, who is running the paper that uncovered Watergate, is described in the lawsuit as being at the center of that cover-up.
A spokesperson for the Washington Post said that Lewis declined to comment to the Daily Beast regarding the allegations, or any other aspect of his career.
“He really wants power and success,” says the journalist who has long known him. “The fact he is alleged to have been involved in covering up phone hacking doesn’t surprise me at all.”
CNN has a story about how Will Lewis’s position at the Post is “increasingly untenable” from an ethical journalism standpoint. CNN also points out that the Post’s newsroom is “reeling” following the new reporting on Lewis’s history, plus Sally Buzbee’s sudden retirement (she retired in part because Lewis pressured her to kill the coverage of Prince Harry’s lawsuit).
The Post is now trying to cover itself as well – on Monday, they published a piece on their incoming managing editor, another British editor with a shady f–king past, Robert Winnett. Winnett has been appointed by Lewis to take over the Post’s newsroom in November. Robert Winnett has a similar history of all kinds of criminal sh-t, including collaborating with a con artist to steal Tony Blair’s memoir before it was published.
“A vast chasm divides common practices in the fiercely competitive confines of British journalism and what passes muster in the American news media.”
Troubling times ahead for the Washington Post (via @davidfolkenflik at @NPR):https://t.co/atZ4G1jsZV
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) June 18, 2024
Photos courtesy of Getty.
This is unethical is shameful on the part of the powers that be. Jeff Bezos needs to reverse this decision and he should be ashamed that he allowed in the first place.
What a disgrace.
^ this!
Whether or not Bezos was trying to bring those slimy practices into the Washington Post, the history of those two tabloid trash sleazes and the impact it has already had on reporting there is out in broad daylight.
His two options are start over with new leadership that is not tainted by Murdoch-esque practices or double down and completely tank what was once a great outlet with the masthead “Democracy dies in darkness”
This is giving Mike Richards Jeopardy host scam, where rich powerful white dudes do manipulative, power grab stuff because they can, thinking no one is paying attention and get caught out, only now with more take down the Fourth Estate and American democracy.
I canceled my subscription due to this.
It’s all bros at the top now, too. That is also a pattern.
I am so tired of Rupert Murdoch’s flunkies getting laundered through American media.
1000% agree.
Agree100%! With Megan says!
Wasn’t Bezos suing some Tabloid for that same shit, some nude photos with him and lauren and his text messages saying I want you alive blah, blah, blah 🙄🙄🙄
Yes, it was the National Enquirer. I guess journalistic ethics must only be applied when Bezos is threatened.
I guess “democracy dies in darkness” was more of a mission statement.
I love that American journalists are taking this on, and I look forward to seeing John Hannah play Will Lewis in the inevitable tv movie about this.
Considering the already existing issues in media in the US, I’m sure many of them are horrified to see these sleazy British tabloid hacks being brought over to lead US newspapers and magazines. We have enough problems as it is and don’t need that extra mess.
John Hannah is 100% who I see when I look at these pics of Will Lewis! He’d be perfect. (And I hope people aren’t mistakenly side-eyeing Hannah, thinking he is Lewis!)
Picks up the popcorn and sits back to watch.
I love the minimizing of alleged criminal behavior as “rough-and-tumble” journalism, as if the wimpy US press simply isn’t man enough to handle British journalists! What’s next, will we be told “boys will be boys” with a shrug? Despicable.
I posted this at the end of the day yesterday so you may not have seen it but I thought it was interesting context. You guys, the NYT reported that Will Lewis had to cancel a “seriously glam dinner” 🤢 in Cannes because of the blowback about his criminal unethical past. How this poor man suffers. Also, that sounds like a hella awkward dinner party.
(gift link)
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/business/media/washington-post-editor-turmoil.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0U0.56at.RNs6dm8TGcgI&smid=url-share
Thanks for this. I’m glad to see actual reporting (although the NYT is no beacon, I’m happy). More is coming out about the increase in those who do not read news at all. Which is understandable, the reasons I’ve heard are different than mine, which is the difficulty in finding journalistic integrity. I did donate to NPR from reading their report on the offer of an exclusive. Although the alleged criminal says the reporter is an activist and not a journalist. You sir have no basis to deem what is journalism.
@Pinkosaurus, thank you for the link! He called an NPR reporter “activist”. What an idiot! Now all the reporters are gonna come for him. First thing to get away with bad things, don’t insult a reporter who is good at his/her job. When they know they got to you, they are gonna dig for more.
NPR and PBS are getting crucified by the wingnuts. The fringe commenters/bots can’t handle honest, balanced reporting that doesn’t elevate their lies. The nepo baby wingnut fruitcake muskrat has specifically targeted NPR. My amazon subscription, which i have had for well over 10 years, is not being renewed and the money is going to pbs and npr.
@Pinkosaurus – Thank you for the NYT gift link. The whole Daily Beast article is also an excellent read. I didn’t recognize Harry Lambert byline as an usual DB contributor. He normally writes for The New Statesman, a weekly progressive print-digital magazine with circulation < 50K. It's nice to learn of another British publication with ethics unlike the rest of britmedia that's craven for the crown.
Oops. Didn’t mean to be ‘Anonymous.’ Surprised CB printed the comment! The whole unexerpted Harry Lambert piece is really good, as well as NYT gift link provided.
Imagine they all covered it up tightly for a decade. Then, they dared to go after Harry’s wife and he said “f*ck it, let’s sue them all!”. The domino effect is unbelievable. They would get away with it if H&M were still under BRF’s control.
Can you imagine? And the WaPo would slowly be turning more and more Tory/MAGA and no one would even know.
Good on you, Harry!
And Jeff Bezos…what are you playing at?
I think Jeff Bezos is tired of losing money. Goes against his grain even though he could afford to support WaPo for a long time without seriously denting his wealth. All this reporting on Will Lewis has convinced me he’s just a pansy-a** baby who can’t take the heat. Lots of WaPo reporters were worried when Bezos bought it thinking they’d have to pull their story punches on him and Amazon, but turns out they wrote plenty of critical pieces on him and Amazon without any ill effect. Bezos kept his promise to keep independent of newsroom. Weakling Lewis can’t stop himself.
Is it possible that these guys have something on Jeff Bezos and that’s why he’s appointing them to these positions?
@Denise, from what I read, he apparently improved the WSJ (Murdoch) financially while working there. WaPo has been in financial decline. I would understand Bezos saw his success at WSJ and that’s why he hired him. But, now? After all these reporting, who is gonna trust WaPo if these guys are working there? So, I don’t know, maybe Bezos is waiting to see what will happen in the legal case, if Murdoch will find a way to settle with Harry and make it go away.
I can see Bezos holding out to see if anything will go to trial. I’m convinced Murdoch is going to offer an unholy sum to Harry that he truly will be unable to refuse. As in it would bankrupt him even if he won. I hope I’m wrong. The thing is though, let’s say the case doesn’t go to trial, it’s his actions in trying to suppress the story just since he’s been at WAPO that makes him unethical, regardless of what even happens with the case. Still doesn’t mean Bezos will care. I wish he would grow a spine though. It’s a
bad hire that he should admit and rectify. There is nothing respectable or admirable about this type of journalism.
I’m tired of the excuse the Post is losing money and poor Bezos had to hire scummy media hacks to save the paper. New York Times was able to stop the bleed by monetizing their popular sections.
It’s more likely Lewis and his shady mates pulled a fast and pretentious con on Bezos (just because he’s rich doesn’t mean he’s infallible) or Bezos didn’t care enough to vet them as the Post is just one among many trophies. I don’t get the feeling since Sanchez has moved in, Bezos is hands on re: the Post or Blue Origins. Bezos and Sanchez have been busy chasing the red carpet and the schmooze fest. Bezos is living the billionaire life currently yachting around the Mediterranean.
This isn’t a puzzler. Bezos shared antipathy toward taxation and government regulations. He hates unions. A Tory control of the Post would mask its right wing turn with British poshness. The Post has seen a decline in the quality of its journalism. Foreign desks in Asia, Africa and L.America are no longer well manned. Not white enough I guess.
Take a hard look and you’ll see things like English reporters based in London posting pieces that summarized US and Asian news outlets reportings. Often they don’t even acknowledge they lifted the stories from other media sites. There’s no verification. No interviews with the subjects by Post reporters. These reporters WFH and glean through various news articles to pull together a report to publish in the Post.
This is a cheap way to run a newspaper and makes the news less trustworthy. It’s commodifying stories where there are victims but it’s the Post that gets the profit and the victims notoriety. Sounds familiar?
It is astonishing that this story vibrates more in the US media as in the British media. A lot of the journalists implicated in the lawsuit have so far gotten away with it and some are still working in high positions in the British media. It looks like it finally caught up with one of them Will Lewis.
It’s worse than that. Many of these Fleet Street hacks went on to hold high seats of power.
Ex Torygraph columnist Boris Johnson became prime minister. You can find many more links not just to government but to the BRF.
It’s a twisted, insidious portrait of British class and insider system. My UK in laws have noted how British media loves to focus on unruly and violent America so the British think their lives are so much better than Americans. You find many news stories about American racism for example but not about systemic racism in the UK. The Guardian is the exception. That’s why racist treatment of Meghan is so well tolerated by the Brits and the BRF. They see the UK as non racist.
Ugh. These guys should not be at WAPO, end of. Will Bezos do something? Idk. But I hope these stories keep coming and stay relentless. Imagine how it will be in six months or so if the trial makes it to court. The details will likely be very very bad for him. So now we’ve got two billionaires who won’t want Harry’s case to go to trial, Murdoch and Bezos. Awesome.
The decision to turn a great American newspaper over to Brit tabloid execs and editors is chilling scary an election year when we have a facist on the ballot, a racist backed by international billionaires and Russians. Chilling. Also, needs to be said again, not a single woman there at the top. Nobody who isn’t white and British.. In Washington D.C. , no less, the nation’s very diverse capitol.
Comment of the day, Isabella. You said it all. These Murdoch hires need to be fired and no more British tabloid trash should be imported to the States.
Lewis essentially landed in a firestorm of his own creating between Harry and American culture. He might have made it past Harry and been protected by the powers that gave him and his buddies a job, if he had just allowed WaPo to report on him. By trying to stuff his past back in a closet and going after journalists to do so, he angered almost everyone in the regular media. That takes a sort of talent. There is no way that he can keep this job under normal circumstances. Saying he Streisanded himself is totally accurate.
I’m sure someone else has made this observation, but if he were anything other than a white man, the person in question would already be gone.
🎯
The guy was given a knighthood by Boris Johnson that alone should have disqualified him for the position of CEO of the Washington Post.
Any chance to #LockHimUp?
P.S. Go, Harry!
When your own FRIENDS describe you as “more louche than most media executives” that’s very telling. What kind of due diligence did Bezos do when hiring him? Did he miss who Will Lewis is, or did he hire him specifically because Lewis is immoral and disreputable?
The other reason Sally Buzbee left was because Lewis also wanted her to kill the story about Alito hanging an upside down American flag at his home (a noted symbol of maga traitors). I think he was successful at killing the story too. It only ran once (?) and then it was gone. This guy is super compromised and needs to GTFO. Hopefully public scrutiny will keep this next ahole from taking charge.
Let’s be clear here. NYT skirted around this. But it’s obvious even when all sorts of law breaking things came to light and were being investigated in the UK, Murdoch’s power over the Tories meant he and his dear ones (Rebekah Brooks and her henchmen like Lewis) got away from criminal liabilities. The people who got caught weren’t close to Murdoch or David Cameron, who was prime minster at the time of judiciary investigation. The people who got caught were smaller fish sacrificed in the name of justice.
Murdoch paid billions to cover up his guilt. Money buys justice.
Want a taste of what the POST under William Lewis and his Murdoch-crony Matt Murray’s looks like?
Here’s a headline from today:
“Secret Service agent robbed at gunpoint during Biden’s L.A. fundraiser”
Except
A. It happened in Tustin, CA — an hour away from Los Angeles — not L.A. (Not even Los Angeles County, Tustin is conservative Orange County.)
B. It happened the same night as the fundraiser, but not “during” the fundraiser.
C. The Secret Service agent was in the area on business, but probably had nothing to do with the Biden/Obama event, as they were staying AN HOUR AWAY, and off-duty when it happened. (The Secret Service has major operations in the area completely unrelated to protection work.)
The article was full of innuendo and outright false information/associations, but has since been corrected. The VERY British-tabloid and broadsheet-style clickbait headline that associates Biden with the GOP’s disproven “violent crime is on the rise!” narrative? That’s still there!
William Lewis, everyone. Dude gotta go.
This whole thing stinks. I fail to believe the necessary persons who vetted him didn’t run a Full Background
check first….. so that leaves me to believe he was planrted there for a reason. I wouldn’t be surprised to see negative stories about H and M and an attempt to legitimize the ridiculous criticism about them in mainstream traditional media because their adversaries are that desperate. Deep sigh…let us see how this plays out. Watch this space.
What’s especially galling is that this isn’t new news. When it was announced last Nov that Will Lewis was top in the running for the job, it was absolutely no secret and talked about in media circles – AND YET HE WAS HIRED ANYWAY.
What’s changed? – I think mainly: (1) Harry’s civil case – Judge will let it go ahead next Jan. Though judge won’t let him add Murdoch (???), judge actually used the phrase “… demonstrably Murdoch’s lieutenants” about Will Lewis, Rebecca Brooks, and others and allowed them to be added to Harry’s case.
And (2) the high anxiety over this year’s US election has reached boiling point. WE ARE SICK OF DEALING WITH SHIT MOVES BY MURDOCH AND MURDOCH
Will Bezos have the courage to sack him?
ETA – The WaPo argument is that Will Lewis was brought in because the paper had a large dip in subscriptions last year and needs a shake-up. I think they’re finding this a bit more than they bargained for and there’s now a real threat they’ll start to lose die-hard loyalists.
And, even more frightening, they’ll lose prestige.
Eat your lunch, Bezos! You can afford it.